The IVF Fertility Blog

A recent study in The Journal of the American Medical Association reveals the connection between preterm births and premature death in childhood and adulthood.

According to researchers from Stanford University and Lund University in Sweden, "low gestational age at birth was independently associated with increased mortality in early childhood and young adulthood." These observations support the researchers' call to develop protocols within the healthcare system that will work towards preventing premature births and therefore decrease the stress and costs associated with complications that arise from them.

This particular study also underscores the importance of New Hope Fertility Center's single embryo transfer (SET) protocols. Low gestational age and the resulting low birth weights are common complications that arise from multiple pregnancies (see this story, which highlights such issues). When it comes to IVF treatments, they are downsides tha can be easily avoided with the practice of SET.

As this study shows that premature births are correlated with higher chances of disease and premature mortality, it adds to the growing body of research encouraging the practice of SET among fertility care specialists. It is now understood that multiple births not only have immediate health risks for both mother and child, but potential health risks down the road if multiples are born too early (which they often are).